The lack of marquee quarterbacks contributed to the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft drawing the lowest television ratings in five years.
Network executives can feel far more bullish looking ahead to 2023 with Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud projected to battle for the Heisman Trophy before jockeying for position atop next year’s draft.
Caesars released its opening odds for the first overall pick on Tuesday, with Stroud and Young co-favorites at +225. The only other player with odds shorter than +1000 is Alabama defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
The same trio leads the way at DraftKings, where Stroud opened at +200 to be the #1 overall pick in 2023 followed by Young (+225) and Anderson (+330). Stroud is also being offered at +140 to be the first quarterback selected, followed by Young (+160), Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec (+1000) and Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke (+1200).
While next year’s draft class appears to be far better stocked with franchise quarterback prospects, it’s important to remember that this time last year Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler and North Carolina’s Sam Howell were projected to be top 10 picks.
Rattler now plays for South Carolina while Howell was selected by the Washington Commanders in the fifth round on Saturday. Rattler is still in the conversation for next year and is +1500 at DraftKings to be the first quarterback selected and +2000 to go first overall.
He has even shorter #1 overall odds at +1800 at PointsBet, where Rattler is behind only Young (+200), Stroud (+210), Anderson (+300), Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson (+1100) and Van Dyke (+1400).